Need Mohs?

Recently, there has been a lot of debate about the need and cost of Mohs surgery for skin cancers. What is Mohs Surgery?  How is it preformed?  What are the costs?  These are all questions we are hoping to answer in today’s blog topic Need Mohs.

Mohs micrographic surgery was first developed in 1930s and is the most effective treatment for most types of skin cancers. With Mohs technique, physicians can precisely identify and remove an entire skin cancer while leaving surrounding healthy tissue intact, in turn, minimizing scarring.

The Mohs procedure involves surgically removing skin cancer layer by layer and examining the tissue under a microscope until there are clear margins (cancer free tissue). The physicians preforming Mohs procedures are trained in reviewing pathology and will read your tissue slides on site.  When performed by a trained physician, Mohs surgery has a success rate of 99%.

What are some advantages of Mohs Surgery? The high success rate eliminates the risk of the cancer growing back.  Mohs surgery also minimizes scarring around the cancer site, while maximizing the functional and cosmetic outcome.

The risking costs of Mohs procedures have also been a concern in the last few years.  Various studies have been conducted comparing the cost of Mohs procedures with standard excisions and radiation therapy. Studies done by Journal Watch Dermatology and the AAD show that Mohs surgery is no more costly than other traditional procedures. Since Mohs surgery minimizes the risk of re occurrence of skin cancer as well as reduces risk of scarring, it remains the gold standard for treating skin cancers.